Mass spectrometry is a powerful tool for indentifying and quantifying gas phase molecules. A mass spectrometry system has three fundamental components: an ion source, a mass analyzer and a detector. These components can take on different forms depending on the type of mass analyzer. Interest in portable mass spectrometry (MS) has increased due to potential uses where rapid in situ or field measurements may be of value. Conventional mass spectrometers are unsuitable for these situations because of their large size, weight, and power consumption (SWaP). See, e.g., Whitten et al., Rapid Commun. Mass Spectrom. 2004, 18, 1749-52.
There remains a need for portable, compact and light-weight mass spectrometers for chemical monitoring and analysis.